Mathri

We all get cravings from time to time...Burger cravings, sweet cravings ( my favourite!!! :)), cheesy cravings, specialty cuisine cravings and then there are tea-time cravings, midnight cravings... The list goes on.. But i always wonder how most of our cravings are related to food, like we don't get a shopping craving at midnight or a craving to read a book one fine day!!! Isn't it? Well, i still remember when we were kids and it was summer vacations, we cousins or friends used to get together for night-sessions of playing games or watching movies or just chit-chats and the next day Mom would find the buiscuits dabba half empty!!! Yes, we would always feel hungry at nights and would hunt down buiscuits or namkeen  from the kitchen :)

I no more get midnight cravings. Maybe because i am not awake so late nights these days or maybe because my eating habits have matured enough to eat right at right time! Or i am just getting old ;) But yes, i do get sweet cravings, so even if it is just a small bite of chocolate or a mini bite of some mithai, i need it after my meals. Thankfully, my mother-in-law keeps sending some homemade stuff and some from my favourite sweet shop "Chitale Bandhu" in Pune, like these "Mango burfi" and "badam burfi" that she sent last month!!!

Also, the last time she came here, she got a huge slab of what is called "Gul-Patti". I specially wanted to mention it in the blog. This is a specialty of Akola, the Vidarba region of Maharashtra in India - My hubby's hometown! It is made with a special type of jaggery that is available there, peanuts and water! That's it! It tastes so so awesome that just writing about it has got me drooling :) It made a perfect in-between snack for us and what more? Healthy too! 

Tea-time cravings or rather coffee-time (since i am a coffee-drinker) have always stayed with me, since the time i have started drinking coffee. So, a piece of Cake ( Chocolate nut cake, Yogurt cake, Fruity sponge cake ) or some Nankhatai or just a small Peanut ladoo is good enough for me. Sometimes snacks such as wafola or Paatvadya tastes awesome and is filling enough till dinner time too. But this time, when my mother-in-law visited us, she taught me one awesome snack that goes so well with tea or coffee. My husband has grown up eating these and now they are my favourites too. I would always have it when we visited Pune, but never really learnt the method of making it. This time, though, i made them along with my mother-in-law. Its so easy that now i always make them and store them in air tight containers. 

There is a different type of Mathri that i see in stores here in Delhi, but they are solid, heavy and stuffy. These, on the other hand, are crunchy, light and super tasty.

Ingredients:

Maida (All purpose flour)- 2 cups

Atta (Wheat flour) - 1 cup

Suji (Rava) - 2 tbsp (optional but helps in making the mathris crisp)

Cornflour - 2 tbsp (optional)

Salt - to taste

Cumin powder - 1 tsp or more as per taste

Pepper (crushed) - 1 tsp or more as per taste

Oil - 1/4 cup

Recipe:

In a mixing bowl, mix maida, atta, rava, cornflour, salt, cumin powder, and crushed pepper. 

Heat 1/4 cup oil and mix it in the mixing bowl with the help of a spoon. Dont mix it with hand as the oil is too hot.

Now warm some water (Not too hot) and knead a dough adding water little by little. The dough should not be too soft and sticky niether too hard. So use water little by little to knead.

Cover the dough and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

Now make equal sized balls of the dough. The balls should be of size of a puri.

Try not to apply flour while rolling the balls. Use only if necessary. Or you can apply some oil on your hands while making the balls from the dough. That way, you won't require to use flour.

Roll the balls into small puris. Now make small cuts on the puri along with a knife. This is to prevent the puri from fluffing up and for the mathri to be crisp. Make sure the cuts are just small and all over the puri.

Heat oil in a kadhai for frying. Now, add the mathris one by one both sides and fry till golden on low flame. Don't fry the mathris too brown.

Let the mathris cool down. They become crisp only when they are cool. If you eat it immediately, they will be soft. Once the mathris have cooled down, store them in air tight containers and enjoy along with tea or coffee :)

Happy cooking!!! :)